How Cars Work by Nick Arnold | book review

SUMMARY: This colourful interactive book provides ten small working models of various car parts made of card that children can assemble (and one that is pre-assembled) to learn more about how cars work.

In these times when everyone comes into contact with cars, learning a bit about the basic mechanisms for how they work would seem to be required. Meeting that need is Nick Arnold's book, How Cars Work: The Interactive Guide to Mechanisms that Make a Car Move [Templar Publishing; 2012: Amazon UK; Amazon US].

Intended for children from 7 years of age and older, this colourful and interactive book provides the instructions and parts for ten small working models of various car systems made of card, so children can assemble them (one is pre-assembled) and make them move to gain a basic hands-on knowledge for how cars work.

In colourful two-page spreads filled with diagrammes and cartoons, this book covers the basic mechanics for controls such as windscreen wipers, pedals such as accelerators, as well as valves, gears, wheels, suspension, steering, brakes and pistons. The parts for each mechanism are printed on heavy card stock and are colour-coded for easy identification. They are assembled by being affixed with plastic nuts and bolts to the detachable card stock pegboard "workshop".

This oversized hardback has 22 pages and is stuck onto a box made of heavy card stock that contains all the pieces necessary to build each mechanical device. Each section in the book shows a number of automobile devices that rely on a particular mechanism to work properly. At the bottom of each page is a historical timeline describing innovations in developing the parts of the car that are described on that 2-page spread.

Although the models are presented clearly enough that most children can suss out how to build them on their own, I'd guess that many parents will enjoy "helping". Overall, this interactive children's book is interesting and educational as well as being fun.

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Nick Arnold is the author of the award winning children's book series, Horrible Science and also Wild Lives, both published by Scholastic Books. He resides in London and his favourite things to do are eating pizza and riding his bicycle.

Illustrator Allan Sanders studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal College of Art in London, and has since worked for The Economist, The Guardian, New Scientist, Vodafone and Penguin USA. He lives in the UK.